Regional Consultation on Vaccine and Immunization Research Preparedness for Vaccine Preventable Disease Outbreaks and Pandemics
Dates: 14-16 April 2026
Location: New Delhi, India
Participants: Regional Consultation brought together more than 90 participants (both face-to-face and virtual) from all ten Member States, the SEAR-ITAG, vaccine manufacturers, academic institutions, regulatory authorities, and development partners.
The inaugural session was attended by Dr VK Paul, Honourable Member NITI Ayog, Government of India as the chief guest; Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary to Dept of Health Research, GoI; Dr. Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia; Dr Suman Rijal, Director HDC, WHO SEARO; Dr. Kent Kester, Executive Director CEPI (virtual).
Purpose: COVID-19 revealed that the Region's challenge was not vaccine development speed, but the timely generation of context-specific evidence on effectiveness, safety, delivery, and community acceptance. Research was reactive, fragmented, and hampered by regulatory bottlenecks, incompatible protocols, and an infodemic that eroded public trust. Recurrent outbreaks of measles, Nipah, dengue, and diphtheria — including an active measles outbreak in Bangladesh at the time of this consultation — underscore that research preparedness is a permanent, not a pandemic-era, priority.
With this context, the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) and CEPI co-hosted a three-day Regional Consultation from 14 to 16 April 2026 in New Delhi. The consultation aimed to strengthen vaccine and immunization research readiness during outbreaks and pandemics in the WHO South-East Asia Region by developing a framework for a responsive, well-governed, and collaborative immunization research ecosystem.
Details: The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO), in collaboration with the CEPI, convened Regional Consultation on Vaccine and Immunization Research Preparedness for Vaccine-Preventable Disease (VPD) Outbreaks and Pandemics from 14–16 April 2026 in New Delhi, India.
The hybrid consultation brought together more than 90 participants from all ten Member States, alongside experts from academia, regulatory agencies, vaccine manufacturers, and development partners. Prof. V.K. Paul, in his Chief Guest address, highlighted the urgent need for the Region to establish coordinated and pre-positioned research systems to effectively respond to future pandemics and outbreaks.
During the consultation, WHO SEARO presented a draft regional framework on Vaccine and Immunization Research Preparedness. The framework is organized around six pillars: basic science research; clinical and epidemiological research; governance; vaccine market and manufacturing research; implementation research; and behavioural and communication research.
These pillars are supported by key enablers including data sharing, digitalization, financing, partnerships, and knowledge exchange. The framework aims to establish a coordinated, resilient, and ready-to-activate research ecosystem capable of generating timely and policy-relevant evidence during outbreaks and pandemics, while also strengthening routine immunization systems. The consultation also highlighted the research preparedness work done by the WHO R&D blueprint and how region can adapt and align to it.
Participants emphasized the importance of shifting from reactive to proactive research preparedness through investments in pre-approved protocols, strengthened clinical trial networks, genomic surveillance systems, and rapid financing mechanisms. Discussions also highlighted the need for stronger governance, regulatory harmonization, and integration of research into immunization programmes.
Recognizing the varying capacities across the Region, participants agreed that countries should prioritize preparedness areas based on their strengths while leveraging regional collaboration and shared expertise. Smaller countries particularly emphasized the importance of regional mechanisms to access technical expertise and infrastructure.
The consultation concluded with a strong call for sustained investment, strengthened partnerships, and collective regional action to ensure future outbreak responses are guided by timely, evidence-based decision-making and aligned with global initiatives such as the 100-Day Mission.
Further information here.
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Author: Dr Vinod Bura, Dr Rahul Srivastava, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia.
Photo: Group photograph of all participants at “Regional Consultation on Vaccine and Immunization Research Preparedness for Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) Outbreaks and Pandemics” on 14th April 2026 (© WHO SEARO)